Council Bluffs, IA Animal Ordinances: Cat Rules (2026)

CBMC 4.20.230 makes annual licensing mandatory for every dog or cat six months of age or older kept in Council Bluffs, with only two narrow exceptions: service animals owned by a disabled person, and animals in transit or on exhibit for fewer than thirty days. Owners apply through the Animal Control Division before January 1 of each year under CBMC 4.20.240, and a certificate of rabies vaccination valid for at least thirty days must accompany the application. Licenses expire December 31 and become delinquent March 15, after which a penalty fee from the schedule of fees is added under CBMC 4.20.240.

Separately, CBMC 4.20.050 governs a cat's movement outside its owner's premises. Even a cat wearing a current rabies tag and license must be restrained enough to keep it from damaging public or private property; a violation is a simple misdemeanor. The administrative authority may seize and impound a cat found at large without its tag, or a licensed cat that is causing property damage, and the owner is billed an enforcement/impoundment fee set by the city council's schedule of fees. CBMC 4.20.272 separately bars anyone from habitually keeping or feeding a stray cat on their property instead of surrendering it to the Animal Control Division or animal shelter.

Anyone keeping more than four cats faces the noncommercial cattery licensing and number limits of CBMC 4.20.273 and 4.20.274, and any animal seized under this chapter can be redeemed only after payment of board, keep and impoundment costs under CBMC 4.20.060.